On Wed, 21 Aug 2002, Brad DeLong wrote:
> But in a world in which Allan Meltzer chairs the relevant committees,
> the options aren't "reform or rebuild" but "reform or remove."
Remove was what Stiglitz was contemplating. He said he was giving up on both reform and rebuild and inclining towards starting over with something else.
If you're saying there would be a damned scary interregnum in there between disbanding the IMF and building something better, in which Allan Meltzer would be swallowed up, I'd have to agree. If you're saying he wouldn't be swallowed up in that interregnum, I'd have to ask why. The "IMF will make no more bailouts" talk certainly didn't stand up to the threat of reality for more than a minute. Why should we think deeper "market will take care of everything" talk that stands behind it will?
Michael